AMHERST — Strong singles play earned the third-seeded Amherst Regional girls tennis team a 3-2 win over No. 6 Springfield Central Thursday afternoon in a Western Massachusetts Division 1 Tournament quarterfinal.
Amherst’s Allison McCann dominated first singles 6–0, 6–0 against Fatima Abdoo. In second singles, Nya Saunders bested Central’s Alexis Rios 6–1, 6–0 and in third singles Margaret O’Connell beat Amira Adzihigrey 6–1, 6–0 to earn the win for Amherst.
Winning matches with strong showings in singles is nothing new for the Hurricanes.
“As usual, for this season, the singles matches were what’s really keeping us going,” said Amherst coach Gloria McCann. “The doubles are all newer players and they’re catching up while the singles (players) kind of carry everybody through to the next match.”
Central finished the season 8-9.
“Getting to play a team like Amherst gives them something to strive for, because they’re so good,” said Central coach Darbeenius McLaughlin. “It was fun for the girls to come here and get a little taste so hopefully next year, we can come back ready to go.”
The Hurricanes (11-5) earned a spot in the tournament semifinals, where they will face either No. 2 Longmeadow (11–2) or No. 7 West Springfield (10–8).
Amherst won the tournament last season, beating Longmeadow, 4-1, in the championship, but Gloria McCann said that’s no indication of what to expect this year.
“We lost four seniors last year, all of them strong doubles players, so it’s really a new season for us,” she said.
Longmeadow has a deep history in the tournament. The Lancers won eight straight from 2000-2008. It could have been nine straight, however, a win over Amherst in the finals was overturned due to an illegal lineup.
Amherst and Longmeadow have met in the finals every year from 2009 to 2015, a series in which the Hurricanes won four times to the Lancers’ three.
The Lancers dealt the Hurricanes two losses during the regular season this year, both by a 3–2 margin. Longmeadow’s Noelle Ehrenberg bested O’Connell in second singles both times.
“Longmeadow has a big team and a deep team,” said Gloria McCann. “The next match will be tough.”